Woven Bowl- A DIY with Free Printable Template

Once you get the hang of it weaving can be a relaxing process and can make some pretty amazing finished products. This woven bowl is no exception.

Baby steps….

Is your student an accomplished weaver? If not I suggest checking out this paper weaving tutorial. Paper is sturdier and easier to handle when your kiddo is just trying to figure out all this under over mumbo jumbo. Paper weaving can be done in one short sitting and is a good way to get the basics down an frustration to a minimum when breaking out the yarn.

What do you need…..

Yarn, any kind will work but thicker yarn will make the woven bowl come together more quickly. Yarn can be expensive to buy but I’ve found it’s also something people tend to have stored away for “someday.” They are often willing to part with their stash if they know someone will be using it. So ask around or check out yarn sold in an assortment.

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You’ll need my free printable template. It’s sized to print on 11 x 17 printer paper. Use the turquoise subscribe form below to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and get access to my Free Resource Library. Once you have confirmed your subscription you will receive a password that gives you access to my printable resources. This template for the a woven bowl is there, in my Resource Library, in easy to print PDF form.

The template is 9 inches across, exactly the size of a paper plate. The paper plate makes a great base for your weaving because it’s slightly sturdier than regular paper. If you wanted to use tag board or even a recycled cereal box would work well.

Getting started…

Print out your template and trace it on whatever thick material you’ve chosen. Paper plates work great but use what you have. Trace the shape and cut it out. Bend the flower petal shapes upward about 90 degrees. They won’t stay this upright but it’s a good place to start.

In and out, over and under…

To start your woven bowl you want to slide the end of your yarn into one of the slits and push it clear down toward the base of your bowl. Leave the tail hang out and don’t worry about it for now. It will be tucked in later. Work around the petal shapes making sure the yarn goes under one, over the next one.

Because the template has an odd number of petals the weaving can continue on around in the correct pattern. If the template had an even number of petals the second row of weaving would mimic the pattern of the first row instead of being the opposite, as it should be.

Keep this in mind if you want to make your own template instead of using the one provided above. Having an odd number of petals to weave around is crucial.

Next color…

When done with one color simply snip the yarn and let the tail hang. Tuck in the second color and continue weaving being sure to maintain that same over, under pattern. Keep weaving and pushing the yarn down close to the base as you work.

Continue on adding rows of color and leaving the letting the a few inches of “tail” hang out. When the yarn has gotten as close to the top as possible stop. Tuck the tail of the last piece into the previous rows and do the same with the the other tails. It is easier to wait and do this at the end because the yarn is pushed down more tightly at this point.

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7 Comments

What do you do at the top, to finish off the bowl? And how do you hide all the little tails you’ve left hanging along the way? I’d love to do this in my art room; it’s adorable and I know my students would love it!
Thanks!

Hi Brooke,
What I did was leave all the tails out till the end. When the rows are close together and pushed down it is easy to tuck them back in without bothering anything. I did the same thing on the top row- just tucked the tail in to the rows below it. If you were worried about it coming undone you could always add a dot of glue to it. I hope that helps!

At first I thought you hadn’t finished this post and I was looking for the next page. I think the final pictured bowl is actually the finished bowl, and because you can see the paper plate rim at the top, you actually CAN guess that there is a paper plate hiding in there!

Sturdiness depends a bit on how tightly they are woven. Ours were definitely sturdy enough to be filled with lightweight items and hold their shape. We didn’t actually use any glue on ours at all- just tucked the tails down into the previous weaving. But i do think a dab of glue would help make that more secure.

What a fun Mother’s Day project this would be for Kindergartners also learning about patterning… patterning in the action of weaving as well as the design made with yarn choices! Many thanks for sharing!

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